A COMPLEX GEOMETRY CARRIED OUT FROM STEEL SHEETS BY INCREMENTAL FORMING

Incremental forming is a process that can satisfy the most disparate requirements in terms of feasible geometries; in other words it is possible to affirm that it is a very flexible process. Moreover, the high formability of sheets for the process under examination, allows to get considerable drawability levels. The aim of the present paper has been the evaluation of the formability of steel sheets and the achievement of complex geometries by means of incremental forming process. The paper shows how it is possible to use a FE code, previously validated for forming processes, to evaluate the forming limit curves of the steels. The same code has preliminarily been used in order to simulate the formability of a complex geometry component. The experimental phase,consisting in the realization of the component with the complex geometry, has been carried out and it has confirmed the results of the numerical analysis.